Just as Feng Che was scouting the perimeter, his micro-bots transmitted the detailed blueprints of the Sky Tower. His eyes lit up as he spotted a viable entry point.
The breakthrough is the ventilation system, Feng Che thought, analyzing the schematics.
The Sky Tower had been built over a decade ago and underwent multiple expansions. Consequently, the original exhaust vents for the lower levels had been rerouted and eventually abandoned, left hidden within the city's older infrastructure. Following the bots' guidance, he located a secret maintenance hatch within the labyrinthine tunnels of the city.
Feng Che slipped into a secluded alley, lifted a heavy manhole cover, and descended into the Goldenrod sewer system. Unlike most sewers, Goldenrod's underground was surprisingly clean, even housing a variety of wild baby Pokémon like Pichu, Magby, Elekid, and Smoochum who played in the drier alcoves.
Using his psychic detection, he found the long-forgotten maintenance corridor. However, one side had been crudely sealed with thick concrete.
"Ditto, transform into Arbok and use Iron Tail."
Ditto leaped from his shoulder, transforming mid-air into a massive purple serpent. Its tail shimmered with a metallic silver sheen before slamming into the concrete wall. One hit. Two. Three. The concrete shattered, releasing a gust of stale, toxic miasma from the ancient shaft.
"Venusaur, inhale the miasma." Feng Che was prepared. Venusaur's massive lung capacity allowed it to siphon the toxic gas into its floral bud, storing it as a future weapon. Once the air cleared, Feng Che stepped into the rusted ventilation shaft. A massive industrial fan, nearly two meters tall, blocked the upward path.
Venusaur extended thirty-two vine whips, gripping the fan's frame and wrenching it from the wall with brute strength.
"Good job. Come back, Venusaur." Feng Che recalled the giant frog and released Corvisquire. "Buddy, give me a lift."
Corvisquire beat its wings, carrying Feng Che up the vertical shaft. They bypassed several honeycomb-like side ducts until Feng Che estimated their height and slipped through a vent into the tower's interior.
Sky Tower: 16th Floor (Staff Lounge)
Feng Che crawled out of the ceiling vent and immediately pulled out his laptop. By tapping directly into a hardline connection, he bypassed the wireless security and infiltrated the tower's main OS.
He began a massive data dump: structural layouts, guard rotations, and—most importantly—personnel files for the research team. To rescue Rayquaza, he needed a skin to wear.
"Found you." He selected a researcher named Chiki, who shared a similar height and build. He memorized Chiki's room number and waited for the man to return for his shift break.
The Sky Tower Laboratory
Rayquaza was still being subjected to continuous electrical shocks. While it looked pained and battered on the surface, the Dragon was actually using its unique Mikado Organ to devour the electrical energy, channeling it to knit its internal wounds.
It had initially panicked when it felt Shiori's life force fading, but now that it sensed she was out of danger, it chose to play dead.
[Rayquaza: Humans think they can control me? If I hadn't stayed back to shield Shiori from those missiles, you'd never have touched me.][Rayquaza: If I used Dragon Ascent, I'd be in the ozone layer before they could blink. But... I think I'll just rest for a while. Shiori has been pushing me too hard on Primal Reversion training lately. I'm behind on my sleep.]
Thinking this, the Sky God entered a state of deep hibernation. Soon, the entire laboratory was filled with a rhythmic, thunderous snoring. President Goodshow watched the "suffering" dragon, completely baffled by its ability to sleep through a million volts.
"What kind of data is this?! It's useless! Redo the entire set!" Dr. Denbo roared at a trembling researcher. "President Goodshow wants the control device finished immediately, and your parameters are completely off! Research requires precision!"
After tearing the man apart, Denbo stormed out. The researcher, Chiki, sighed heavily and trudged back to his private quarters. As he opened his door, he froze—a masked figure was standing by his window.
Before he could scream, a gelatinous substance wrapped around his face, muffling his voice and pinning his limbs. Chiki watched in terror as his room was psychically sealed.
"Ditto, copy his fingerprints and retinas." A cold, synthesized voice echoed in Chiki's ear. He felt a freezing sensation as the blob scanned his biometrics. When it finally released him, he gasped for air like a drowning man.
"Who... who are you? I have money! Just don't kill me!"
"Don't be afraid. I won't kill you," the masked figure said. "I just need your memories. And I need you to take a very long nap."
Feng Che placed a hand on Chiki's head, using his psychic power to read the man's surface thoughts and technical access codes.
"You are very tired, Chiki. You need fifteen days of deep, undisturbed sleep. No matter what happens, you will not wake up." Under the influence of Hypnosis, Chiki climbed into his bed like a puppet and fell into a coma-like sleep.
"Perfect. He really does work in the central containment lab." Ditto's body expanded, covering Feng Che and molding itself into a perfect replica of Chiki.
"Your mimicry is getting better, Ditto," Feng Che noted. "You've even got his scent down."
[Ditto: I can even split off independent clones if I wanted to, but my trainer doesn't know that yet.]
Feng Che smirked. If I hadn't learned to eavesdrop on your thoughts, I'd still be in the dark. A split-clone Ditto? That could be my most powerful weapon.
The next day, "Chiki" arrived at the lab. Dr. Denbo immediately dumped a stack of tasks on him. "If you fail this time, you're off the team!"
Feng Che looked at the workload and rolled his eyes. Chiki really was a bottom-tier researcher if he couldn't finish this.
He looked up at the center of the lab. A giant green dragon lay listless inside an alloy cage, enduring the crackle of electricity.
Why does Rayquaza look so... pathetic? Where's the divine majesty? Feng Che thought, eyeing the unmoving dragon.
Rayquaza's long, serpentine body was coiled tightly. Yellow ring patterns ran along its green scales, and its large, flat horns rested against the metal floor. It looked like a giant, dejected emerald snake, completely ignoring the humans scurrying around it.